Elastic-fluid turbine.



PATENTED MAR. 14, 1905.

W. B. POTTER. ELASTICI FLUID TURBINE.

AAPPLIUATION FILED JULY 21. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Witnesses.: WW. /n/Lelggg: 77K lam o er; m by www waag.

No. 784,806. A PATENTED MAR. 14, i905. W. B. POTTER. BLASTIG FLUID TURBINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 21. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

l l wf//fa Power, @am by UNITED STATES Patented March 14, 1905.

PATENT OEEICE.

IVILLIAM B. POTTER, SCHENECTADY, NEI/V YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEV YORK.

ELAsTlo-FLUID TURBINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 784,806, dated March 14, 1905.

i Application led July 21, 1904. Serial No. 217.439.

T0 fbZ whmn if Imag cm2/cern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. POTTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Schenectady, county of Schenectady, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Elastic-Fluid Turbines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to turbine-engines operated by condensable elastic iiuid, such as steam; and its object is to enable the condenser to be quicklycut oi'l' in case it should be necessary to run the engine non-condensing.

The exhaust-steam from the final stage of the turbine is usually received in a chamber, from which it flows throug'h a large conduit to the condenser. In case of accident to the condensing mechanism it is desirable to be able to shut it oh? and exhaust directly to the atmosphere. A sliding gate-valve capable of controlling the pipe leading to the condenser would be very large and expensive and troublesome to handle, and its .use in most, if not all, cases would be prohibitive. To avoid this, l provide the conduit or pipe with one or more wing-valves hinged in the exhaust-chamber of the turbine and operated from outside by a worm-gear or otherwise, so that said valve or valves can be folded back when the engine is running condensing and turned forward to close the mouth of said conduit or pipe when running non-condensing. The valve may be stiffened by ribs on its back, and its lit upon its seat may be insured by a packing of lead or the like.

In the accompanying' drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section on the line 1 1, Fig. 2, of a portion of a steam-turbine equipped with my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of the same on the line 2 2, Fig. 1; and Eig. 3 is a longitudinal section showing a modification. The turbine shown is of the upright or Curtis type. On its shaft 1 is mounted a bucketwheel 2, carrying buckets 3, cooperating with stationary intermediates 4 on the casing 5, which is supported on a hollow base 6, into which the steam exhausts from the buckets. The base is provided with one or more openings 7, by which the steam can be exhausted directly to the atmosphere when desired. 1t is also connected with the condensing apparatus (not shown) by a large conduit or pipe 8, whose width in the engine illustrated is as great as the diameter of the base 6. In a livethousandkilowatt machine this dimension will be not less than twelve feet, and in order to prevent distortion by sagging it is customary to provide the base 6 with upright partitions 9 and the mouth of the pipe 8 with posts 10, dividing the mouth into several openings. 1t is manifestly out of the question from a practical standpoint to control such a large pipe as this by a single sliding or gate valve, and to control each opening between the posts 10 with a separate gate-valve would involve considerable expense and cumbersome operating-gear. 1 therefore provide each opening with a wing-valve 11, located in the base Gand adapted to close against the side edges of the pipe 8 and the posts 10. The valves are fiat castings, preferably stiffened by ribs 12 on their backs and connected with an operating-shaft 13, which extends into the exhaust-chamber and preferably across it at its bottom. In Figs. 1 and 2 the valves are mounted directly on the shaft, which passes through them near one edge. 1n Eig. 3 the valves are hinged at their middle to arms 1&1, secured on the shaft. 1f desired, the valve may have two wings, so as to constitute a lmtterfly-valve, the shaft running across the middle of the opening. ln any case the rotation of the shaft will turn the valves, so as tov shut or open the mouth of the pipe, as the case may be. By providing a recess 6 to receive the valve shown in Eig. 1 the 'liow of steam will be unobstructed. The shaft projects through to the outside of the base and is provided at one end with suitable operating mechanism, such as a worm-gear 15, meshing with a worm on a shaft 16, which can be turned by a hand-wheel 17 in its bearings in brackets 18 on the base.

To insure a good closure, the valve may have a soft-metal strip 19 let into a groove around its edge and fitting against the valveseat. This packing is especially applicable to the construction shown in Eig. 3, because the, hingmg of the valve at its middle causes it to be self-centering. The same effect may be obtained in the other construction by having a small lost motion between the shaft and the valve or valves. This construction also reduces the danger' of spoiling a casting due to errorin workmanship. distortion, &c. Should the valve be closed when the condenser is in operation and the vacuum in the base should then be reduced, it would be impossible to open the valve, owing to the unbalancing of the pressure on the opposite side. To meet this difliculty, l provide a by-pass 20, running from the base 6 to the conduit 8 around the valve 1l. A stop-valve 2l controls the bypass, and when opened it permits the condenser to reestablish the vacuum in the base 6, so that the valve l1 will be no longer held shut by the suction.

ln accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes l have described the principle of operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which l now consider to representl the best embodiment thereof; but l desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the invention can be carried out by other means.

\'V hat l claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

l. ln an elastic-fluid turbine, the combination with a chamber receiving the exhaust, of a conduit leading thence to a condenser, one or more wing-valves located entirely within the turbine for closing said conduit, and an actuator located outside of the turbine for swinging' the valve or valves about their axes to open or close them.

2. ln an elastic-fluid turbine, the combination with a chamber receiving the exhaust, of a conduit leading thence to a condenser, and one or more wing-valves located in said chamber and closing against the mouth of said conduit.

ln an elastic-'Huid turbine, the comblnal tion with a chamber receiving the exhaust, .of a conduit leading' thence to a condenser, a shaft extending into said chamber adjacent to the mouth of said conduit, and one or more wingvalves actuated by said shaft and closing against said mouth.

4f. In an elasticfiuid turbine, the combination with a chamber receiving the exhaust, of a conduit leading thence to a condenser, a shaft adjacent to the mouth of said conduit, and one or more wing-valves carried by said shaft and closing against said mouth.

5. In an elastic-fluid turbine, the combination with a chamber receiving the exhaust, of a cond uit leading thence to a condenser, a shaft adjacent to the mouth of said conduit, arms on said shaft, and one or more wing-valves pivoted to said arms.

6. In an elastic-fluid turbine, the combination with a chamber receiving the exhaust, of a conduit lead-ing thence to a condenser, one or more wing-valves for closing the mouth of said conduit, means for pivotally supporting said valves at their middle, and soft packing around their edges.

7. In an elastic-fluid turbine, the combination with a chamber receiving the exhaust, of a wide-mouthed conduit leading thence to a condenser, one or more posts dividing the mouth of said conduit into separate openings, a valve for each opening, and a common operating-shaft for said valves.

8. ln an elastic-fluid tui bine, the combina tion with a chamber receiving the exhaust, of a conduit leading thence to a condenser, one or more valves for closing said conduit, and a valved by-pass around said valve or valves.

In witness whereof l have hereunto set my hand this 19th day of July, 1904.

VILLIAM B. POTTER.

Vitn esses:

BENJAMIN B. HULL, HELEN Genom). 

